I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Gardening in New England – Vegetable Garden Update, Mystery Plant of the Week and Blueberries!

It’s been busy around here the last few days but I’m happy to announce the corn patch has finally been planted! I’m not sure how many ears 9 rows about 40 feet long with yield, but I’m hoping there will be enough sweet corn to freeze and last us until next summer. Only time will tell I guess.

Later today I’ll plant the painted corn{which I plan to use to decorate the house this fall} in another part of the yard so I don’t have to worry about cross-pollination. We also have two small rows of strawberry corn {for popping} growing over by the potting shed so hopefully we’ll be good on corn for this year. 😉

The main vegetable garden and all the onions, lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers are doing really well. I planted zucchini seeds a few weeks ago, and only about 75% made it. I’m not sure if they were gobbled up by something or if Lucy maybe just trampled on them {which is highly likely} but I think I’ll plant a few more zucchini seeds this week. Zucchini relish. Have you tried it? It’s AMAZING!

Blueberries! Our 8 bushes are filling out nicely. I think it will be interesting to see how many berries we’re actually able to harvest this year. I’m planning on making a batch or two of blueberry mint jam, and then squirreling the rest of the berries away for the winter to use in make scones,smoothies, muffins and coffee cake. And pies, we can’t forget the berry pies.

Our dogwood tree is in bloom. Ain’t she pretty?

Mystery Plant #1

Anyone know what it is?

Mystery Plant #2

And how about this one? At first I thought maybe it was a miniature iris but now I’m not so sure. We’ve got a few clumps growing in the backyard and I would love to divide these up in the fall to have more of them in the garden.

And last but not least, I harvested a nice bouquet of chives and oregano this morning. I think I’ll make a quiche for dinner tonight and add them in. Summer…. It’s finally here and I couldn’t be happier.

Agreed! It is a honeysuckle! Our neighbour has a yellow/ white one that grows on her/our fence and the scent is heavenly, until the allergies kick in! It is very strong so when the breeze kicks up you will smell it if you have the windows open in the house! The other purple plant is an Iris, I believe they are the dwarf variety but I’m unsure of the proper common name. I have pale mauve ones like this!

#1 Not sure but think it may be the vine version of the honeysuckle plant. If it is, the flowers make a delicious and colorful jelly. It definitely should be on your keep it manicured list if it is, as once established, this vine will spread significantly. Some people consider it invasive.

#2 Definitely is Widow’s Tears or at least that’s what it’s called around here. It comes in color variations from white (rare) to a pinkish purple to a very deep purple. Yours is in the middle of the purples. It can be invasive, so be good about trimming back when the flowers go to seed. And yes, it’s very easy to transplant. If you have a space to fill, you can move it now. Both plants will recover nicely.

So fun to see your plantings on your property. You are so lucky NOT to find Bishop’s Weed. That’s an old timey ground cover that spreads and spreads and is very hard to remove. Every root inch must be removed to be successful.

Enjoy your day. Mine is my monthly medical appointment and another medical appointment. And for enjoyment, watching the high school aged kids painting the next door neighbor’s house. Can’t tell if any of them have ever painted a house before.

I saw your chive blossoms and wondered if you had ever tried making chive blossom vinegar. It’s beautiful and delicious! I’ve heard the color described as “the blush of a very embarrassed Rosé”. I use it in my salad dressings and sometimes like to just admire it sitting on my refrigerator shelf.

Mystery plant #1 is Honeysuckle! It will smell amazing. You need to keep control of it cause it can get out of hand. I had one growing on the side of my front porch for years when I lived in Tacoma (already growing into the roof when I moved in). It was VERY established when I moved in. I would hack it back in the fall. Hummingbirds LOVE it!

We call the spiderwort ‘4 o’clocks’ for their unique habit of closing up around 4 in the evening. They do get leggy so I just cut them back as the blooms start to fade. My neighbor has the honeysuckle vine and it smells heavenly! Enjoying your blog

I have made chive blossom vinegar before – great on salad! just make sure there aren’t any bugs in the blossoms before you put them in the vinegar!

Isn’t it fun to find new plants as the spring/summer progresses? it was a never ending source of amazement for me when i bought my house 21 years ago. Maybe you’ll be lucky and have lady slippers in your wooded area (don’t pick them! they are rare). Wish i knew what happened to my Jack in the Pulpit though…

Mystery plant #2 is definitely spiderwort. It is a favorite of bees. We always have piles and piles of bees around when it is blooming. Here in the south it multiplies and spreads on its own. Some people say it takes over, but I have never had that problem.

I’m really enjoying your blog now that you have space for a garden and are growing lots of veg again. Every morning I check in to see what you’re up to. It’s almost a gardening blog now and I love it.
That’s quite a substantial corn patch. I don’t have as much growing space so I had to eliminate corn. One year I did the Native American 3 sisters growing together. Now I have all of my beds completely fenced in on all sides to keep squirrels, chipmunks, everything but the bees out. Lost too many tomatoes to animals that took one nibble of each tomato. My fruit trees are still under attack by hungry squirrels so I haven’t solved that problem.

The first plant is a honeysuckle. A very pretty one. The second plant is Tradescantia, also known as Spiderwort or Widow’s Tears (because a new flower blooms every day during its blooming season…like a widow’s tears falling… ). I grew them for years, and they come in flower colors of blue, pink, purple, lavender and white…even one with yellow foliage. But after they bloom, they get a bit messy and floppy, so I’ve moved on. But they’re lovely when in flower. They also self seed like crazy.

9 rows of corn, 40 feet long – I doubt you will be lacking for enough of corn until next season. Be prepared to keep the deer out of the patch. And when harvest time is near – have a plan of action for the coons. Those critters will sneak in at night about the time you are ready to harvest it and do major damage. Because of the deer and coons, I no longer plant corn. Rather I buy in quantity at our local produce auction. One benefit is that I can do all my corn in one day.

It won’t help the deer problem, but we kept coons out of our sweet corn by running 2 lines of electric fence around our patch…. one about 3-4 inches off the ground and one abt 6-8 inches above that!! Miraculous!!

I do believe it is. Look at the center of the flower. It would be nice to know what variety it is though. The previous homeowners did mention most of the plants came from the Boston Auditorium so I may have to go there for research.

Hi Mavis!
I work 3 jobs and a part time business and I am really starting to envy your new house, garden,etc… Even Lucy! I just bought a house that I’m pretty sure the backyard is smaller than your garden! But I have a ridiculously long driveway so do some raised beds this year and see how it goes. Anyway…I’m starting to plan my exit strategy off Long Island and into the “country” somewhere!
Keep up the good work!
(I showed my brother you splitting wood in the pilgrims costume-he cracked up!!)

Mystery plant #2 is Spider Wort. We love it and have grown it for about 20 years or so. I’ve not found it to be invasive as others have. It’s on the West side of our house in Ohio so maybe that’s the difference. I agree too that Mystery plant #1 is Honeysuckle. What fun getting to see an unknown garden unfold! Happy gardening!

Spiderowrt is easy to divide for new plants. It also comes in a dark purple variety.
Keep an eye on the blueberries. The birds love them Most people put netting over the bushes to discourage the birds.

Looking good Mavis! Your going to have ALOT of corn! It looks like the painted corn you’re planting is the Glass Gem variety! It’s so beautiful! I’m planning on planting some myself as well. Mystery plant #1 is vining honeysuckle and plant #2 is spiderwort or also known as widow’s tears. Both are great for butterflies! Enjoy!

Mystery plant #2 is commonly called spiderwort. The proper name is Tradescantia as others have noted. I inherited some clumps in my former home and loved it. You may also be interested to know that Thomas Jefferson grew it in his garden.